Nigeria Needs 9% Growth to Cut Poverty, Create Jobs – Soludo

The governor of Anambra state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has said Nigeria needs to grow its economy by at least nine per cent annually to significantly reduce poverty and create jobs, warning that the current growth rate of about four per cent is inadequate to deliver meaningful improvements in living standards.

Soludo speaking at the Nigerian Economic Summit 32 (NES32), with the theme, “Growth that Works: Delivering Jobs, Productivity and Shared Prosperity”, in Abuja, said the country would require an annual growth rate of at least 12 per cent to achieve a $1 trillion economy by 2030 or 2040, stressing that higher investment would be critical to meeting the target.

According to him, Nigeria’s investment rate, currently estimated at between 17 and 20 per cent, must rise significantly to support the scale of economic expansion required.

The governor also cautioned against interpreting large nominal government spending figures as evidence of substantial public investment, noting that consolidated expenditure across the federal, state and local governments amounted to less than $1 per person daily.

He stressed the need to channel national savings into productive investments capable of expanding output, generating employment and improving living standards, calling for stronger coordination among the three tiers of government, noting that subnational governments accounted for a substantial share of public expenditure.

He said effective collaboration was necessary to maximise the impact of government policies and investments, particularly in addressing poverty and improving access to essential services.

Citing Anambra State as an example, the governor said its free education programme, which covers kindergarten through secondary school, had helped reduce the state’s out-of-school children rate from 2.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent.

On food prices, Soludo said addressing post-harvest losses was critical to reducing the cost of food and improving affordability for Nigerian households. He put post-harvest losses at about 43 per cent of agricultural output, saying improvements in storage, transportation and distribution would help reduce waste and ensure food moved more efficiently from farms to urban markets.

The governor urged governments to strengthen collaboration across sectors and mobilise investments to accelerate economic growth. He also called for policies that promote exports, develop domestic value chains and attract investments into sectors where Nigeria enjoys competitive advantages.